Amazon's first original series will premiere its second season -- with all 10 episodes available at once -- on Oct. 24.
The release strategy, differing from the first season's tack of releasing one episode every week, reflects not only how Amazon's slate of originals has matured but also how powerfully its rival Netflix has shaped consumer expectations of online TV.
"Alpha House" was Amazon's first foray into original programming and was widely perceived as the response to rival Netflix's originals push with "House of Cards." While the former is a half-hour comedy and the latter an hour-long political thriller, both touted high-profile creators and cast. However, where "House of Cards" spurred water cooler chatter and numerous awards, "Alpha House" struggled to reach the same level of buzz.
Amazon has been shying away from its original-release strategy that it tested with the first season of "Alpha House" and another original program, "Betas." The company initially released those shows week-to-week, similar to how traditional television networks air new programming. The first three episodes were available for anyone to watch, but the the rest were reserved for members of e-commerce giant's $99-a-year Prime program, which is best known for free second-day shipping but also includes Prime Instant Video.
Last week, Amazon released its latest original series, "Transparent," with all episodes available at the same time, a la Netflix. With more programming and pilots in the pipeline, Amazon is able to release its shows in a binge-able bunch like its bigger rival -- something online viewers are coming to expect -- and still have new programming to follow it.
The second season of "Alpha House" will be available to Prime members in the US, UK and Germany starting Oct. 24.
Like the first season, the second is produced by Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Garry Trudeau and stars John Goodman, whose character lives in a house with three other Republican senators played by Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson and Matt Malloy. It will also feature cameos by Washington D.C. political and news figureheads, such as former presidential adviser David Axelrod, U.S. Senators John McCain and Elizabeth Warren, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and John King, and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, among a slew of others.